From Politico: Vice President Joe Biden’s message to immigration reform advocates: Don’t let your issue die like gun control did. Speaking on a conference call of Catholic clergy and other faith leaders, Biden said it will be incumbent upon immigration reformers to be louder and more engaged with Congress than reform opponents. “Work the districts [Read More…]

From the Vatican news site: In his homily at Mass celebrated with the residents of Lampedusa and the immigrants who have sought refuge there, Pope Francis spoke out against the “globalization of indifference” that leads to tragedies like the deaths of so many migrants seeking a better life. Below, please find Vatican Radio’s full text [Read More…]

His story, and why he did it, from the Chicago Tribune: Just days after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border by climbing a wall, a Chicago priest said Sunday that what he did was wrong and urged parishioners in his Southwest Side church to apologize if they had done the same. “And by recognizing you did something [Read More…]

As part of her master’s project at Iowa State University, Eloisa Perez-Lozano documented the immigrant experience of three families in Marshalltown, Iowa. One of those families included Deacon Felix Hernandez, whose wife ended up being deported in a raid shortly before his ordination in 2009. As the National Catholic Reporter tells it: Immigration and Customs [Read More…]

It’s happening in Los Angeles, but I can think of a lot of other corners of the country (including my own) where something like this could reap dividends. From The Tidings: The group of nuns and priests sitting around the conference table had been invited to a historic event: an orientation meeting for the “Teachers [Read More…]

It’s the bishops of New Mexico, and they wrote about it yesterday. Details: Allowing undocumented immigrants living in New Mexico to have a driver’s license if they can provide a valid ID is a matter of “mercy, fairness and safety,” said the state’s three Catholic bishops. “We are in favor of allowing individuals without Social [Read More…]

In a rare move, three bishops from three different faiths have taken legal action to fight a new law that they believe will criminalize part of their ministry. Details from the New York Times: On a sofa in the hallway of his office here [in Cullman, Alabama], Mitchell Williams, the pastor of First United Methodist [Read More…]

“In Catholic thinking, the right to immigration is a ‘natural right.’ That means it is universal and inalienable. But it is not absolute. Immigrants are obliged to respect and abide by the laws and traditions of the countries they come to reside in. Catholic teaching also recognizes the sovereignty of nations to secure their borders [Read More…]